Keio High School Baseball Club: The "Power of Entrusting" Develops People

2024/12/17

Inside a Shinkansen heading from Shin-Osaka Station to Tokyo Station. Having finished the major task of covering Koshien for 22 nights and 23 days, my heart, which should have been filled with a sense of fulfillment, was filled with nothing but regret.

August 24, 2023. This happened the morning after the joyful "Juku-ka" echoed through the summer Koshien. From the Senbatsu tournament to the Spring Kanagawa Prefectural Tournament, the Kanto Tournament, the Summer Kanagawa Tournament, and the Summer Koshien, I had continued to cover the Juku-ko. I received numerous requests to appear on wide shows. Before I knew it, "Enjoy Baseball" had become a social phenomenon. Who could have imagined that the day would come when I, an amateur baseball reporter, would appear live in the studio of Yomiuri TV's "Miyaneya"?

On "Miyaneya," I explained the characteristics of the Juku-ko baseball club in an easy-to-understand way for the general public. Players with silky hair. The "Fair-skinned Prince" with perfect sunscreen. In high school baseball, where vertical society remains strong, a unique culture where the manager is addressed with "-san." Passionate support from graduates overflowing with love for their alma mater...

"That was very easy to understand."

The TV producer said so with a smile and saw me off as I got into a taxi heading for Shin-Osaka Station.

Gazing at the scenery from the Shinkansen window, I thought. Is Juku-ko's baseball really that "easy to understand"? No, surely not. I want to delve deeper into the essence of its strength. There must have been various dramas even for the generations that couldn't make it to Koshien. I want to go and hear their stories.

My interview subjects totaled 21 people, including leaders like Manager Moribayashi, Director Akamatsu, and former Manager Ueda, as well as student coaches, current members, alumni, and rivals like Manager Sue of Sendai Ikuei. Behind the stylish team colors were days of youthful passion, trial and error, and hard-fought struggles. The interviews totaled 33 hours. The more I reported, the more I became captivated by the Juku-ko baseball club, and I wrote it all at once in two months while listening to the cheering song "Rekka" as BGM.

I learned from "Enjoy Baseball" that true enjoyment only exists beyond hardship. I hope you will enjoy the results of "Enjoy Writing," in which I poured my soul into every single word. If you read it, you will love Keio baseball ten times more. I became a sports reporter to write this one book.

Keio High School Baseball Club: The "Power of Entrusting" Develops People

Hiroshi Kato

Shincho Shinsho

240 pages, 902 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.